


12 days plan

by Niibeth



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Brendol Hux's A+ Parenting, Bullying, Happy Ending, High School, M/M, Pining, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 23:33:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17477039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niibeth/pseuds/Niibeth
Summary: For Armitage Hux the best way to survive school was to become an invisible man. That also meant that Ben would never notice him unless he, of course, devises a clever plan.





	12 days plan

**Author's Note:**

> Let's be friends on Tumblr - I'm Niibeth - or Twiter - I'm Kortesku.

This school was 5th in Armitage’s life if you don’t count the elementary. And the 1st in his personal ranking, if you don’t count the elementary. He didn’t want to include it, because mother was alive then, and even though their family moved from time to time, that didn’t feel as if they were haunted.

The 5th school was best not because of the curriculum, teachers, facilities or classmates. It was the best because here he finally mastered the skill of being invisible. Looking at his father – high and stout with posture shouting “military” from mile around – people probably didn’t think that his son can be bullied. At least, Brendol Hux himself refused to believe it. When Armitage was naive enough to complain dad at first ignored his words and then made it clear that snitches get stitches. 

He was left alone with a challenge. He tried different things – going to a school therapist and getting the title of a snitch in one school, for instance. Fighting back brought him a bloated ear and detention. Bribing led to a situation, where he had to endure the bullying but also help the bullies with their homework. Finally, he learned to be unnoticed, he mastered the skill of invisibility – sometimes even teachers forgot that he was in a class.

He sat in the back. Studied well, but never answered first, he was boring and calm, and walked home alone, counting the days until he will be able to live on his own and maybe stop hiding.

If there was one reason, he’d liked to be seen again that was Ben Solo. It was impossible to miss Ben. First height. Then ears. “I wouldn’t be the first to be bullied here” – thought Armitage immediately and immediately felt ashamed. His mind was evil someti… most of the times.

But no one messed with Ben. He was, Hux though, an opposite type of person – visible, present. He had friends who were happy and laud. He had a big, weird and liberal family with deep roots in this city. He had a distinctive style in clothes, and he had an old motorcycle – a possession, - thought Hux with envy. He had an account on a popular platform, a bit goofy, but Armitage checked it every couple of days, and read his blog to the very last page in one sleepless night, downloading several nice selfies.

Ben made the school even better in his ranking.

Armitage preferred not to talk to his father, buy some communication was inevitable. He wanted to attend additional courses to spend as less time at home as possible and asked for permission.

\- Don’t bother, - said Brendol, - We’ll be moving soon.  
\- But it is still fall, we have just moved in!  
\- So? I have a new assignment, so return your books to the library – we’ll be moving in a dozen days.

It was hard not to slam the door or punch a wall. Just twelve days left! There must be a law against parents like that!

That night Armitage tossed and turned and couldn’t sleep. He didn’t want to leave so soon. He liked that school, that city, he wanted to know more about it. Fine, fine, he wanted to know Ben better, but now there was no chance. His angry thoughts tortured him until 3 in the night when suddenly he had an idea. He does have a chance. He can do anything he wants. He can be weird or stupid, he can come out, he can ask Ben out. Whenever goes wrong – he’ll be out of that shit in 12 days. He can even pretend to be ill for the last days if the thing will become too intense. And he should start tomorrow.

**Day 1**

Armitage lost his determination in the morning. Dressed in the finest – less boring – clothes – he and regained some, seeing that acne didn’t make another round on his face that week. But at school, he lost it again, automatically slipping into invisible mode, when he heard Ben laughing with his laud friends. At the end of the school day he was angry with himself, so he marched right to Ben’s motorcycle. Ben and his friends – Knights, they had a kind of a music band that constantly changed names – soon came near.

\- Can we talk? Alone?

Ben waved to the Knights, and they left, puzzled but not protesting. The first step is made.

\- What do you want? Armie… Armitage, right?  
\- Do you know the Spark café, in the city? – Armitage has never been there, but he heard girls talking about it in the halls.

\- Yes…  
\- Can we… I mean – I invite you there. On a date, - he elaborated, but that obviously did things worse.  
\- Is it a joke?  
\- No. I’m serious.

For a moment Ben looked threatening, almost angry, and Armitage regretted leaving the invisible mode. But then he smiled.

\- Date? Serious?  
\- Yes.  
\- Get on then.

The café was obnoxiously pink and boasted the assortment of ice-cream. It was a good atmosphere for the dream-like state Armitage was in. If they haven’t befriended each other on the social network during the date, he could think that it was all his imagination. But while his mind was still in a sugary post-date haze, his fingers were printing messages. Movie tomorrow, place and time.

\- See you don’t waste time  
\- I’m organized.  
\- :) Then what’s next?  
\- Movie, visiting some party in friend’s house, then going to your or mine place for an overnight stay.  
\- Do you have everything planned?  
\- Yep. It’s my 12-days plan.  
\- why 12?  
\- My lucky number.

**Day 2**

This morning the school looked different. He couldn’t say why, until Ben greeted him. People looked. Looked and turned away like there was nothing strange that someone invisible suddenly became visible. They spend together as much of the day as possible. Ben’s friend moved to give him a place at their table. They walked the halls together. He waited near the motorcycle again. And every time he couldn’t see Ben, he thought – what if he disappeared? What if he never existed at all? Ben and a very big and lively part of the world. But he appeared and offered Armitage a helmet.

\- Let’s go.

He didn’t remember the movie, but he saved the ticket. They ate nachos and when the box became empty Ben placed it on the floor and took his hand.

**Day 4**

Armitage had everything planned, of course. But he had no friends they could visit. So, this part of the plan was implemented with Ben’s help. It took him a day to organize a Nintendo party in Mitaka’s home. Armitage never played console games before, but he was happy to let Ben win. They kissed in the kitchen, and kissed later, when Ben took him home, hiding from Brendol’s line of sight behind the tree.

**Day 5 and 6**

Days 5 and 6 fell on a weekend. He had high hopes, but Ben’s family traveled to visit Ben’s grandfather in a hospice. He could see that Ben was torn apart but had no heart to encourage a family argument.

\- You should go. I don’t think it would be great to meet your parents later if you embarrass them because of me.

They messaged through the days and almost half of the nights. Ben quoted his favorite bands, Armitage told about his secret itinerary – he had long ago made a plan to see the places described in some of his favorite books if he ever gets wealthy and/or free. Only now he imagined what they could visit and see together with Ben.

**Day 7**

In the morning Ben waited for him by the house. He was pale, eyes framed by deep dark circles from lack of sleep. But they didn’t drive to the school, Ben stopped in the middle of the way.

\- I thought about your plan. Right? Going to your house or mine. So. My parents invited relatives, uncle, and cousin, Rey, I told you. And they are coming tomorrow. For a week! No less.

Ben stepped very close.

\- Can you skip school today? We can go home right now, while everyone at work.  
\- Yes.

Right now, watching, hearing, smelling and almost touching Ben, he couldn’t care less about the school.

Later he thought about the definition of sex. If they were making porn, it would probably last only minutes. But what was the rest of the hours they spent in bed? And could their online messages be added to that definition? Because Ben was making plans and promises, very bold ones, some hardly anatomically possible.

**Days 8 – 10**

The news of them skipping school reached both families soon, and Armitage was grounded. So, school time was the only time they had now.

They were inseparable in school. Ben drove him from home and back. And Armitage hugged him for dear life and a little harder.

He couldn’t tell what the lessons brought, or what Knights were joking about in cafeteria this time. No, that week they changed a name again, now the band was called Sad Chop.

**Day 11**

Ben brought him home, and they kissed. Reluctantly Armitage stepped back, but Ben caught him and hugged again close.

\- I love you, - he whispered.

Armitage’s plan never went so far. He kissed Ben hard and run home without an answer.

At home, everything was as usual, but some wrongness nagged him inside. Things shouldn’t be normal if they are leaving tomorrow! In his lovelorn state, he hasn’t noticed. Father should have ordered him to bring labeled boxes from the garage a day ago!

\- Dad? When are we moving?  
\- What?  
\- You said we will move in a dozen days, but we are not packing.  
\- Ah, that. False signal, we are staying until next autumn at least. 

Armitage’s heart filled with excitement. They are not leaving! He will have so much time with Ben!

Then the complete realization punched him in guts with such force that he had to touch the wall as he was walking upstairs. He lied to Ben. All this time he did what he did, knowing that he will soon say farewell, that he doesn’t have to answer “I love you” – well, he could, but it didn’t matter. Now it mattered. Now everything mattered.

He went to his room and felt to his bed, face down.

\- You don’t have to tell him! Keep pretending! – shouted the small voice inside, but Armitage was already turning off the phone.

The evening somehow changed into the morning, and Brendol came to say that “that guy” is there with his motorcycle, and he muttered something, to what Brendol muttered something back that sounded like “I don’t even want to know” but aloud he only reminded him to clean the house.

He cleaned and he ate and opened textbooks and listened to the voices that told him: You became visible and you failed.

There was no way out. He had to go to school on Monday. He had to face Ben and everyone else. They will see him as he is.

\- Lie! - said the invisible man, - Don’t be stupid. Say that you were ill, depressed, say you love him, kiss him, let everybody see. You will have some time and then you will fall apart because lies will destroy your love like rust kills the metal, but it happens all the time.

\- Lie! - said the invisible man – Say that you are breaking with him. He will shout, maybe cry, will make a scene. They will gossip. But then they will forget. They will stop noticing you very soon.

He was so deep inside the conversation on his way to school that he hasn’t heard a familiar roar of Ben’s motorcycle. Ben walked to Armitage with a clumsy stride, that Armitage rated as a sexy trait long before he made his damned plan.

Ben didn’t look angry. Pale, dark-eyed. He touched Armitage’s shoulders as if checking him for some damage.

\- Are you? How are you? You are not, right?  
\- I’m not what, Ben?

\- I don’t know! – Ben shouted – You talked about your twelve days plan like you were going to die! Like you, I don’t know, will be diagnosed. Or go into hiding. Or I don’t know what! I wanted to say that I will go through it with you, but you ran away! And never picked the phone. I even called the landline! Talked to your dad, he didn’t let me see you.

\- I… Dad said we were going to move to the other city.

He closed his eyes for a second because he didn’t want to see Ben angry. But when he opened his eyes Ben’s face was just thoughtful. He talked fast in his rumbling voice.

\- Well, that’s bad, but not like bad-bad. Even if it is the other side of the country, we have Skype. And we can work, save money for plane tickets, meet in the middle…

\- Wait-wait, – this time he touched Ben’s shoulders – We are not going anywhere. Dad said it was just a mistake, at least until next fall.

\- Oh, thank goodness! - and Ben finally hugged him.

Before the air completely left his lungs, Armitage muttered – Sorry for not answering… I was so sure I’ll have to leave you, I don’t know what happened to me I just…  
\- Never mind, you are here.  
\- I love you, Ben.  
\- I love you too… Oh, and don’t read my messages, ok? When I thought I’ll never see you again, I get carried away.

And he didn’t. But Armitage copied and saved them. Years later, on the night before his wedding, when Ben was sleeping tight, wrapped around his side like a desperate super-weight blanket, and the invisible man in Hux’s mind woke up and spiraled into a panic, then he opened his phone and read the saved messages.


End file.
